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Third mistrial enough for Gotti prosecutors

Three mistrials added up Friday to one huge victory for second-generation mobster John A. "Junior" Gotti.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 21, 2006

NEW YORK - Three mistrials added up Friday to one huge victory for second-generation mobster John A. "Junior" Gotti.

Federal prosecutors announced they would not pursue a fourth racketeering case against Gotti, son of the late Gambino head John "Teflon Don" Gotti.

"The decision wasn't unexpected, but obviously it's great to have confirmation," said Gotti's attorney, Charles Carnesi. "It's a terrific relief."

Carnesi had not yet spoken with Gotti, who said after last month's mistrial that he wanted to take his wife and six children to the Midwest, attend college and lead a quiet life away from the region where his name became synonymous with organized crime.

U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said in a statement that retrying Gotti "is not in the interests of justice in light of the three prior hung juries in the case."

But more legal problems could lie ahead: Radio talk show host Curtis Sliwa promised a lawsuit against Gotti over his near-fatal June 1992 kidnapping allegedly ordered by the mob scion. Sliwa was allegedly targeted for his on-air criticism of the elder Gotti. He survived by diving out the window of a moving cab after suffering two gunshot wounds.

The jury in the third trial unanimously found that Gotti, 42, had ordered the kidnapping, and the defendant admitted to a lengthy criminal career. But that was insufficient to convict him of racketeering because jurors split on his claim of quitting the mob before July 1999.

Gotti's assertion was the key to the case, because the five-year racketeering statute of limitations expired if he had stopped mob activity by that date.

[Last modified October 21, 2006, 01:46:55]